HYDERABAD, Feb 18: Hyderabad DPO Munir Ahmed Sheikh claimed on Friday that police had arrested an important member of the gang involved in a recent series of subversive activities in different parts of Sindh. He made the disclosure at a press conference held in police headquarters to share facts about recovery of a hostage, Sunil Kumar son of Shankar Das, kidnapped on Jan 7 from Tandojam area.

The DPO said that police had picked up around 16 suspects following the explosions on railway tracks and gas supply lines. Joint investigation teams of police and other agencies interrogated them and cleared 12 of them, he said.

Only five, he said, were detained who disclosed name of a person during further interrogation who, they said, was instrumental in the subversive activities.

The DPO avoided disclosing names of all the suspects, saying it would compromise investigation. These people were professional and they were hard nut to crack, he said. He said that the fifth suspect was involved in arranging motorcycles and other vehicles for the gang. The investigation would lead to more startling disclosures in future as well, he said.

Terrorists tried to blow up railway tracks and gas supplies lines across Sindh but failed to do any major harm. Pamphlets believed to have been left at the crime scene by so-called Sindhudesh Liberation Army's commander Darya Khan were found every time.

No casualties were reported in these incidents which did disturb railway tracks and traffic between up and down country on different occasions.

About the kidnapping, the DPO said that Ameen Jan Buledi, a suspect, was picked up from Jamshoro's Thermal Power Colony in connection with kidnapping of Sunil Kumar.

Buledi, he said, was a flood-affected person and was directly involved in the kidnapping of Sunil, who was recovered from Garhi Khairu. The kidnappers initially demanded Rs20 million and then brought down the figure to Rs2 million for releasing the hostage, he said.

Sunil who was present at the press conference said that he was waylaid near Nasarpur-Tajpur railway crossing by four kidnappers who were in a car and one of them was wearing a police uniform. “...Not a single penny has been paid as ransom,” said the DPO.